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Posted 9/13/2017 2:31 PM (GMT -5)
Being four months post SBRT, my ejaculate in slowly returning to the original consistency and color, albeit less in quantity. Is this to be expected? Shorrtly after radiation the ejaculate was totally clear, but not so anymore. Could the semen still (or again) contain live sperm? Thoughts?
Posted 9/13/2017 2:38 PM (GMT -5)
Post IMRT, there is much less than before.

Don't know if there is live sperm or not, but I am well past worrying about that.

Andrew
Posted 9/13/2017 2:49 PM (GMT -5)
After radiation it is normal for there to be less ejaculate since the amount of functioning prostate has been reduced and the areas that were cancerous are basically scar tissue. After RP surgery one is rendered impotent as all the plumbing is cut and the sperm can not make their way out. While radiation therapy does not cut these pathways, it does do tissue change, damage and scarring which can have an effect. The type of radiation treatment can have a determination on fertility. Brachytherapy is less likely to cause infertility than external beam radiation. I understand this will vary from man to man and based on the treatment. Specifically about SBRT (a form of external beam radiation), I haven't read anything about the effect on fertility.

Have you asked your doctor? And, you could provide a sample for testing to see if there are swimmers.
Posted 9/13/2017 2:57 PM (GMT -5)
Impressing that you have ejaculate. What did they told you before treatment about ejaculate? Does SBRT have less anejaculation SE than traditional EBRT? I thought that the majority of men after RT experienced anejaculation. The proportion experiencing anejaculation at 1, 3 and 5 years after RT was 16%, 69%, 89% respectively in the Stember et al study published in The Journal of Urology (2010 - yes its old!).
Posted 9/13/2017 3:03 PM (GMT -5)
JNF: I would aks the radiation oncologist. I figured I would querry the collective wisdom first. Thanks.
Posted 9/13/2017 5:38 PM (GMT -5)
Hey Search....I finished SBRT July 26 and my experience so far is exactly the same as yours. I still am doing the clear color with a somewhat reduced ejaculate. All else is identical to before treatment. It will be interesting to see if mine follows the same progression as yours.
Posted 9/14/2017 12:16 AM (GMT -5)
You're one of the lucky ones -- congratulations!
Posted 9/14/2017 9:21 AM (GMT -5)
I'm three months post SBRT treatment and my level of ejaculate is reduced but my wife and I don't care even a bit. As far as it's color or if there any strong swimmers present...equally unimportant. Now for the important stuff; all the data suggests that our choice of treatment will be as successful at controlling my cancer as IMRT, surgery, or seeds would have.

The big bonus is no side effects. Sex is every bit as good as prior to treatment. No surgical recovery, no urinary issues, no catheter, no pads, no bowel changes, no blue pill, no pumps, no injections, and no infection risk from repeated biopsies. I feel blessed that my cancer was discovered early and could be treated with such a high level of statistical probability for success. My prayers go out to those men far less fortunate.
Posted 9/14/2017 10:13 AM (GMT -5)
Great news Terry. Glad it is working.
Posted 9/14/2017 10:37 AM (GMT -5)

Gemlin said...
Impressing that you have ejaculate. ...The proportion experiencing anejaculation at 1, 3 and 5 years after RT was 16%, 69%, 89%


I no longer have ejaculate, and it didn't take even a year to go away, if I remember correctly it was pretty much gone by the time my treatments had ended.

I was also using (and am still using) Flomax/Tamsulosin before, during, and after the RT, which might have something to do with it too with retrograde ejaculation as one of it's SE's.
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